Woodstick/Big Beat 2008 Home

Woodstick 2008 - A Five Star Big Beat Event
Information

Welcome to the Woodstick/Big Beat 2008 website. You’ll find up to the minute information about the largest gathering of drummers ever assembled. We’re gearing up for our 6th annual event to be held November 2nd at The Juanita Field House in Kirkland. There are several very significant factors that will assure that this year’s event is the biggest and best event we’ve ever presented. Read on!!

The most significant development comes from our alliance with the Five Star Drum Shops. This years event will occur simultaneously in 9 cities across the US and Canada, hosted by a Five Star Drum Shop in each city. The international event will be called the Five Star Big Beat. We will attempt to set a cumulative record for drummers playing simultaneously via electronic connection between all 9 participating cities. This has never before been attempted but we’re confident we can pull it off.

We’ll also attempt a new world record for the most drummers playing drumsets simultaneously at our local event. We hold the current Guinness world record of 533. With 9 different cities participating there will be some heavy competition for the largest local event. We’re really going to have to come out in droves if we want to hold onto our record.

Our Five Star affiliation has brought us a dramatic increase in industry support. All of the major drum, cymbal and accessory companies recognize the importance of this event and are being extremely supportive of our cause. We could never attempt to produce an event on this scale with out the support of the drum industry. Expect to see lots more prizes and promotion this year.

We will raise money this year to support school music programs and to promote hearing safety. We’re working locally with Rotary Music 4 Life and nationally with The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. Both of these organizations help purchase and repair musical instruments for underserved schools. We’re also working with Rotarians for Hearing Regeneration to promote hearing safety. Musicians routinely expose their ears to dangerous levels of noise. The Rotarians are promoting some very simple ways to protect our ears, our most valuable instrument. 

I hope to see you there.
Thanx,
Donn Bennett

Where: Juanita Field House at Juanita High School 10601 NE 132nd st, Kirkland, WA 98034 - map

When: Sunday, November 2nd, 2008  2pm - 4pm  Doors open at 9:30am.  Plan to arrive no later than 1:00pm in order to be set up before the event starts.  Free drum clinics and drum performances will begin at 11:00am up until 2:00pm show time.

Fund Raising
Woodstick is a fundraising event to raise money for local school music programs and promote hearing safety.  We highly encourage all participants to raise pledges much like you would in a walk-a-thon.  Top fundraiser will win a $7,000 Mapex and Sabian drum/cymbal package.  The pledge form is available here.  More information is on the Fund Raising page.

Drums
If you participate, you'll need drums to play.  You can bring your own drum kit or rent a set to use at the event.  We'll have it setup for you to play when you arrive at the event.  Check out the Registration Page for more details.

Prizes

There will be over $18,000 in prizes to be awarded to Woodstick participants.  Click here for prize info.

Drum set contest
Anyone can enter the drum set contests.  Prizes awarded in each category for:

• Coolest drum kit
• Best Vintage drum kit
• Crappiest drum kit

Volunteers
We have opportunities for volunteers in these areas:  Stage Hands, Set up and Tear down, Information, General help.  Stage people must be over 18 and know how to properly set up and tear down a drum set.  If you'd like to volunteer contact Don Doman.

Donations
If you can't attend, but are interested in making a donation to help our cause, use the registration form to send in a donation.